Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings!

Do you remember that old song, "Feelings"?  It begins with "Feelings, nothing more than feelings..." and continues on about a lost love.  The first line of the song actually speaks a truth that can easily be lost in all the "feelings."  The "jilted" lover is saying that his "love interest" is gone and "nothing more than feelings" is all he is left with.  The reality is over and all that remains are the feelings.

Friends, God built us with feelings, but we are not to live by our feelings.  You ever felt like punching someone?  You ever felt like telling someone off?  You ever felt like quitting your job and sleeping till noon every day?  We've all felt like doing these things...but we refrained from doing them...why?  Because we don't live by our feelings...we live by truth.  This brings me to my subject.  The church is not to live by feelings, but by truth.  The modern church of our day finds herself focusing on feelings over truth much of the time.  Church members living in open immorality are not confronted for fear of hurting their feelings and possibly leaving the church.  Certain topics in scripture are never preached on for fear of upsetting feelings and losing members (topics such as hell, giving, sacrifice, lordship, faithfulness to name a few).  Biblical doctrine (truth) is cast aside and replaced with experiences that make us feel excited or "close" to God.  Truth has given way to personal experience and feelings have become the gauge to determine whether something is "spiritual" or not.  If I "feel" it, it must be real.  If I don't "feel" it, it is unimportant and irrelevant.  So....the church spends her time trying to create "experiences" for her congregants so that they will be satisfied and "feel" good about the church (and keep coming and giving!)  On any given Sunday, today's church presents anything from a "Christianized" rock concert to a "free for all" with people lying in the aisles, laughing for hours on end. Even in the more doctrinally conservative churches, many have resorted to pragmatism...whatever works to get people in.  Survey's are given, asking church members what they "want" in a service or what they "want" in a pastor or staff person.  Wouldn't a better question be...what does God want in our services?  What does God want in a pastor or staff person.  Do you see the difference?  The church must not operate on feelings, but on truth.  Scripture says that the fear of man brings a snare...and it will every time.  Don't be too quick to trust your feelings, put your trust in the truth...called the Bible!

Spin, Spin, Spin

Do you remember, as a child, getting a top out of a cereal box or purchasing one at Ben Franklins (for you older people)?  You could take that top, put it between your thumb and forefinger and give it a spin.  WOW...it would spin and spin and spin.  The amazing thing about a top is that though it is full of energy and moves round and round, it actually makes little progress.  For the most part, the top expends its tremendous energy in one location, finally giving out and falling over.  This top reminds me of the plight of many modern churches of our day.  They are full of activity but going nowhere.

The apostle Paul said that he forgot those things that were behind (his past - good and bad) and was pressing on (forward) to reach the goal.  The mental picture is that of a runner who is not focused on where he has been, but is focusing on what is ahead...the finish line.  Can you imagine the race official raising the starting gun, shouting "runners on your mark, get set...go!", firing the gun...only to watch the runners jump out of their starting positions and start spinning rapidly in one place on one foot like a ballerina?  That would be a waste of time and energy...runners have a course to follow...they are going somewhere.

Friends, Jesus never established the church with an intent to expend tremendous amounts of energy going round and round, but getting nowhere.  The church is not to be like a top, but a runner.  Many churches in our day have concluded that much activity equals productivity.  This is simply not true.  They've become nothing more than spiritual "tops."  A church can spend "gobs" of money on highly advertised entertaining events, "hip" sounding programs promised to lure in the most spiritually uninterested, expensive give-aways and more...only to be expending great energy, but making no spiritual progress at all.  The goal of the church is not to be "busy" for the sake of busyness.  It is not to lure in people with the promise of entertainment or a "good show."  It is not even to "get people saved".  The goals is to make true disciples who continually follow Jesus and grow in His likeness.  In Jesus' last words before ascending to heaven, He told His people to go into all the world and make disciples.  Certainly this begins with salvation, but that is just the beginning.  Now the disciple is to be taught, trained and launched into service through the systematic preaching and teaching of the Word.  When a church focuses its attention on preaching and teaching the Word of God with the intent of growing the disciple into a spiritually mature person, then launches that disciple into serving Christ...this church is making true progress.  It is not acting like a top, but a runner, reaching for the prize.  

The Relevance of Breathing

How relevant is breathing oxygen to your life?  Do you wake up in the morning thinking to yourself, "You know, breathing oxygen just doesn't seem as relevant as it used to...I need to think of a way to make breathing oxygen more relevant to the new generation of people growing up in our world."  You don't think this way, nor do I.  We just breathe naturally with very little thought.  It is a part of our human make-up and doesn't need me to make it relevant.  It IS relevant and will always be so.

Beloved, the same is true with the Word of God and the Church.  Many in the evangelical church of our day have determined that the Word of God is no longer relevant to our modern generations as it has been given to us.  They believe that the preached Word is antiquated and outdated.  The "guru's" of the modern church have determined that it is their responsibility to make the Word of God and the church relevant once again.  So, hot-hearted preaching has given way to conversational dialogue from a stool or chair.  Sermons on Hell, judgement, self-sacrifice, suffering and responsibility are nearly non-existent and topical preaching on subjects such as success, self-esteem and financial prosperity can be found in abundance.  Church leaders of this sort believe they are "helping God out" by making the church attractive to people in the world.  They wrongly conclude that they have made the Word and the church relevant once again.  Focus clearly and intently on what you are about to read: The Word of God is relevant just like oxygen!  It doesn't need me to "tinker" with it to make it relevant...it IS relevant.  It has always been relevant and always will be relevant.  Pastors and preachers have no need to preach some topics that are "attractive" and avoid those that are "hard"...we must simply preach the Word as it has been given to us and the Holy Spirit will draw and transform hearts.  The church dare not substitute entertainment, self-help counseling and the latest programs for genuine worship centered on humbling ourselves before our Holy Lord and feasting on the "whole counsel of God."

We don't have to make breathing oxygen relevant...it just is.  We don't have to make the Word of God and the church relevant...it just is.  Quit breathing and you die!  Quit accepting the Word of God as it has been given to us and you die spiritually.  Something to think about......

Cotton Candy Church

How about that Cotton Candy!  When you see it at the fair, it looks so appealing to the sight and gives the impression that there's a lot of it wrapped around the paper stick.  You pull off a hunk, pop it into your mouth and the taste is so sweet.  Man, is it ever good...but, in a moment of time, it shrivels in your mouth and leave little to be found.  Needless to say, you could never live on a diet of Cotton Candy.  Though it has desirable outward trappings, there's actually very little to it...and no nutritional value.  It just can't provide what is needed to keep a body health and growing.  It's a whole lot of fluff.

Friends, the sad tale of our day is that we are inundated with Cotton Candy churches.  They have a desirable appeal to the human senses.  Their programming and events are advertised in such a way as to make them look "cool" and "today" as opposed to "that's so yesterday."  Sermon series and titles appeal to the "felt needs" of man's flesh...how to be successful, relieving stress, adding sex appeal to your marriage and on and on it goes.  The reality is that these churches have bought into a subtle lie.  What is the lie, you may ask?  Here it is...man must be lured into the church with the "stuff" that appeals to his flesh, it's the only way he will come.  Then, when he comes, we must present him with "Christianity Lite".  If the word is too hard, he will quit coming.  If the church can be as attractive as the world, then people will keep coming.  Dear Beloved Christian, we are not in competition with the world's appeal, we are to win people out of the world!  Our job is to give people what they need, not what their flesh wants.  A good mother does not feed her babies cotton candy for their meals...though it would likely appeal to the child...she feeds her babies strained peas (yuk!) and green beans and carrots.  None of these are very appealing to the flesh, but they provide the nourishment needed for health and growth.  The Word of God is not always easy on man and worship is more than fun celebration or emotional goose bumps.  The church is to give people what they need, not what their flesh wants.  Don't crave the fluff, but sink your teeth into the meat!  Unite with a church that gives what you need!

Get Your Hand out of the Cookie Jar!

Have you ever experienced the classic scene of walking into the kitchen to find your child with his hand in the cookie jar...the cookie jar you told him not to get into until after supper?  You say, "Johnny, what are you doing in that cookie jar!"  And he replies, "I'm sorry mommy"...all the while, he's stuffing a cookie in his mouth!  Is this not a picture of the type of repentance most people exercise?  A man is caught in sinful behavior, says he is sorry, yet continues on with his life with no change.  A woman knows she is in disobedience to the standards of God's Word, so she confesses that she is wrong, but justifies her actions and does nothing to rectify them.  I vividly recall counseling a lady not to leave her husband for another man because she would be living in sin, only to hear her say..."I know it's not right, but....."  Then came the justifications and reasons why she should be able to be an exception to God's rules.

Beloved, repentance equals change.  Repentance is a change of mind about sin, that reaches the heart and changes the behavior.  If sinful behavior does not stop, the heart has not been reached and the mind has not been changed and repentance has not occurred.  If you are indulging an area of sin and find yourself asking God's forgiveness, only to indulge the same wrong over and over again...maybe you've never taken your hand out of the cookie jar!  It's not enough to tell God that you are sorry...you must be willing to part with the sin and walk in obedience.  That is true repentance.

One of the stops on our recent cruise vacation was the country of Belize.  Each port of call on a cruise offers many different options for excursions...basically "attractions" at this particular location.  Upon disembarking the boat, tourists are overtaken by "dealers" who want to lure you to their presentation of what they can offer.  Most of these "wheeler-dealers" are somewhat pushy and overbearing.  As soon as our feet hit the dock at Belize City, Belize, I was confronted by one of these "dealers."  He immediately began to give the run-down of where he could take us and what we would see and how "cheap" it would be.  I hardly gave him a nod of acknowledgement.  He pursued and continued to plead his case.  With very little kindness, I brushed him off again by saying, "no...not interested."  Well, as God (not fate) would have it, we ended up listening to his presentation, negotiated a price and he became our guide to a private island in the ocean for a snorkeling adventure.  While riding to our "Gilligan's Island", I struck up a conversation with the man I had unkindly brushed off...and would you believe, he was a believer in Jesus Christ!  He shared of his journey to Christ and about his church.  He turned out to be a really great guy.

I don't have to tell you that upon finding he was a fellow believer, I was immediately convicted in my spirit that I had not treated him respectfully on our first encounter.  My secret thoughts wondered what he thought of me after finding that I was also a follower of Jesus Christ and a pastor at that!  Hopefully, a lesson has been learned. As a Christian, I never have the right, nor reason to treat another person disrespectfully.  Whether I encounter a person who appears to be a believer or not doesn't matter...because I am a believer.  I represent Christ to whomever He allows me to cross paths with...even in places like Belize!

When people encounter you...who do they see?

Ball Fields and Church Buildings

After spending a wonderful week of vacation in Mexico and the Central American countries of Honduras and Belize, our ship docked on Sunday morning in New Orleans and we began the 12 hour trek home.  All along the way, I lamented the fact that we could not be with our church family for worship.  It has been my practice for years to miss as few Sunday in worship as humanly possible.  Even as a pastor, I NEED worship.  I NEED to be with my church family.  I NEED to be taught, discipled, convicted and encouraged by God's Word, even when I'm the one preaching it...and I NEED it as often as possible.

We were passing through Fort Payne, Alabama around the time church meets on Sunday evening...at least when some churches still meet...and I noticed something that reflected where we have drifted as the body of Christ.  A church was on one side of the highway and a ball field on the other.  The church building was quite attractive and appeared to be an impressive facility.  It only had one glaring problem...it was closed up "tighter than a drum."  No cars in the lot, no people milling around, no lights peeping through the windows...just plain ole dark.  But what about the ball field?  Lights were on, cars were in the lot and people were around.  In that moment, the reality settled in...the church no longer values corporate worship enough to strive for it.  We've raised the white flag and thrown in the towel.  Pastors have concluded that "modern" man will not rise to the challenge, therefore cancel services so as not to "inconvenience" the busy schedules of the congregants.  Many (but certainly not all!) professing believers have concluded that they can get enough "Jesus" in one meeting per week to get them by...so they show up on Sunday morning to "pay their dues" to God, then hit the golf course, the movie theater, the lake or the couch facing the TV.  All the while, Hebrews 10:24-25 rings in my ears, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."  Friends, the Day of Christ's return is approaching...as a matter of fact, it is approximately 2000 years closer than when the writer of Hebrews penned the preceding verse under inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  We shouldn't be canceling, but adding!  We shouldn't be finding ways to miss, but to meet!


Dear follower of Jesus Christ, please fight off the desire to protect your convenience.  Remember, life is not about me and not about you...it is about the glory of God.  Our chief aim is to be conformed into the image of Christ.  It is our privilege to receive the preaching of God's Word.  It is our duty before God to exhort one another and stir up love and good works...which requires being together to accomplish.  It is our joy to be with the ones we love...our spiritual family.  And beloved pastors, let me admonish you...don't succumb to the "wind of the day".  Challenge your people to rise.  Don't conform to the lowest common denominator, but call your people to climb! 

Covered with Vines

When we moved into our home approximately 8 years ago, the fireplace chimney was partially covered with ivy vines.  No doubt, this was the intention of the previous owner.  He had built a trellis against the house and likely planted the vines in hope of having a decorative stand of greenery.  Now, I'm not a horticulturalist, knowing the habits of plants and what must be done to keep them under control...therefore I did nothing to the ivy vines.  I took this approach..."live and let live"..."don't bother me and I won't bother you."  If you are wondering, that approach does not work with ivy vines!  The last three days of my life have been spent extricating vines that completely took over my chimney, from bottom to top, and worked their way under my siding and shingles.  I have been amazed at how aggressive Ivy vines are when left alone...they will take over or penetrate anything and everything in their path.  My understanding is that the only way to completely rid yourself of these pesky vines is to dig them up at the roots.  Amazing!

These Ivy vines remind me of habitual sins in our lives.  Invariably as we travel through this thing called life, we allow little sins to take root in us.  Seldom are these what we would call the "big" sins, but smaller things...white lies, gossip, profanity slips of the tongue, risky internet viewing.  You get the idea. All of these "little" sins are individual vines that begin to grow and intermingle with other little vines.  In time, our whole being has become a myriad of interconnected vines that cling to us tightly and invade every aspect of our lives.  Sins never remain small, they seek to take over and take over, they will!  There is only one option for removing these sins from our lives.  You can't simply trim or partially remove them because they will immediately start growing again.  They must be removed at the roots.  Sin must be acknowledged as wickedness, repented of before God, and forsaken.  Anything less in only cosmetic and will have no lasting result.  Don't let little vines of sin overtake your life...uproot them!

How Firm a Foundation

Our church hosted a yard sale on Saturday as a fundraiser for our youth beach camp trip.  The sale was held in the family life center which still contained the styrofoam backdrop used in Vacation Bible School.  This scene was no "thrown together" project, but looked to be the real thing.  It had the appearance of the front of a house or palace in Jesus' day, constructed of hewn out rock blocks, complete with stairs and door opening.  It looked authentic.

After a number of people had entered the life center to shop, one rather tall lady needed a quick rest from her labors...so she decided to sit on the styrofoam stairs!  Because they looked so real, she was fooled into believing she had found a "firm foundation" on which to relax...but she didn't relax for long!

After placing her full weight on the foam stairs, I heard a loud "POP" and saw the lady jump to her feet with a surprised and startled look on her face.  Her "firm foundation" was actually a "flimsy foundation" that nearly put her on the ground.  What she was trusting to hold her up was actually something that had no ability to sustain her.

The sad reality is that many, including professing believers in Jesus Christ, are putting their trust in things that will not sustain them.  In today's world, we know jobs that at one time seemed secure are no longer so.  The economy can turn in a moment and all that we have saved "takes wings and flies away."  Pleasures lose their "shine" and we are on to some other hobby or activity to enamor us.  The only foundation that is not "sinking sand" is Jesus.  I'm not talking about religion or trying to "live right"...I'm talking about a genuine, personal walk with Christ.  He is the only foundation that will hold you, right on through eternity!

Making Memories at Putt-Putt

Who wouldn't enjoy a week at the sandy white beaches of the Florida gulf!  Leisurely reclining on a beach towel, enjoying the waves or exploring the ocean floor for treasured Sand Dollars and shells were all a part of my daily "duties."  Yet, none of these relaxing activities will go down as the chief "memory maker."  That distinction goes to the afternoon Putt-Putt match against my son, Josh.

While Josh enjoyed the beach as much as anyone,  he was ready for another adventure by Wednesday afternoon.  This afforded me time to spend with my son, so we choose a competitive game of putt-putt in Panama City Beach.  The temperature upon our arrival was 90+ degrees.  We had barely started our round before my clothes were soaked with sweat and I felt its salty sting in my eyes as it rolled down my face.  If the temperature and sweat were not enough, we found ourselves behind an entire church youth group, therefore we were forced to do a lot of waiting between holes.  Yet, in all these circumstances, I wouldn't trade our putt-putt game for anything else in this world.  Why was this simple round of putt-putt golf such a memory maker?  All because of a song I heard on the way home...

My entire family was in dream land while I drove the first leg of the journey home.  The radio scan became my friend as I combed the dial for music from "my day."  I landed on a station that played a song I've not heard in some time titled "The Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin.  The song tells a story about a man raising a son and struggling to find time to invest in his life.  His son constantly says about his dad, "I'm going to be like him."  In time, the roles of the dad and son reverse.  Now, the son has his own family and the dad wants some time with his "boy".  He calls his son and asks for some time with him, and the son replies, "my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu, but it's sure nice talking to you, dad."  Then, it occurs to the dad...his son had grown up just like him...with no time to give.  As I listened to the message of this song, my thoughts were taken back to my putt-putt game with Josh.  Though a round of putt-putt golf will never go down in history as a significant event, it was certainly significant to me.  My children are growing up and in a few short years, they will be on their own.  My opportunity to instruct, influence and love them before they "fly the coop" is quickly coming to an end and I want to make the most of time I have been given.  If this all-important time together happens to be while playing putt-putt, then putt-putt becomes a genuine memory maker.  I will treasure the time we were able to spend together.

What about you, mom and dad?  Are you investing time with your children?  It won't be long before they are grown and ready to launch into the world.  Don't miss your opportunities...even if they happen to involve a round of putt-putt golf!

Bryan